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Commissioners: Human services building has cost savings, room for growth

Lillian Reed, Hanover
Published 9:58 a.m. ET Oct. 7, 2015

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The former Herff Jones building located on Boyds School Road just outside Gettysburg will be the new location of the Adams County human services facility.(Photo: Shane Dunlap &#8212; The Evening Sun)Buy Photo

Adams County's new human services building will be located in the Herff Jones building in Cumberland Township, the Adams County commissioners announced Wednesday after two years of searching and several months of debate on the subject. The building was formerly owned by the company Herff Jones Inc.

The facility will house several county departments — Domestic Relations, Children and Youth Services, Probation Services and Operational Services — under one roof. The county is currently leasing separate facilities for each of the four departments.

The county is purchasing that property for $2.25 million, with York-Adams Mental Health contributing approximately $776,000 toward the acquisition, county manager Albert Penksa said, adding that this price fell below the property's appraised value.

The building's location has been hotly debated both online and at several government meetings over the past few months.

The Herff Jones building is located within a 10-mile radius of approximately 70 percent of the county's population, Penksa said during the meeting.

Several residents, however, have voiced concerns that moving the departments out of the county seat of Gettysburg Borough could be detrimental to local businesses and municipal parking revenues.

Five individuals expressed frustration with the commissioners during Wednesday's meeting for what they said was a lack of transparency during the search for a building location.

The commissioners, however, asserted that the information they withheld is considered privileged under the Sunshine Act.

"You want to protect your position in real estate negotiations," said Commissioner Jim Martin of keeping the building search private.

There was another buyer interested in the Herff Jones property over the summer, Commissioner Marty Qually said.

Resident Gene Golden read aloud his own "proclamation," — a play on the many proclamations the commissioners make each year — to the room, declaring the day "'October Darkness Day' in honor of the consistent lack of sunshine in Adams County governance."

Franklin Township resident Carol Rebert told commissioners that she circulated a petition online, which asked the county for more transparency and garnered 123 signatures. The number of signers was indicative that there were "considerably more than a handful of people that you have said show concern about this project," she said during public comment.

Another resident, Paul Kellett, a former candidate in this year's commissioners' race, was escorted from the room after declaring an "objection" midway through the meeting.

Court officers removed Kellett, who refused multiple warnings to return to his seat. Earlier in the meeting, Kellett had used public comment to express his discontent with the way the commissioners had handled the building search.

Kellett believed he had a right to object based on his belief that a violation of the sunshine act was about to occur, he said later Wednesday. The commissioners were about to consider a vote to reject the single bid submitted in a Request For Quotes for the potential human service building location.

Commissioner Randy Phiel believed that the commissioners had been as forthcoming as possible with the building options within the context of the law, he said. Still, the negative views expressed during public comment were part of the democratic system, he said at the end of the meeting.

Penksa gave a presentation during the meeting to explain each option that county officials examined during their search, including the advantages, limitations and estimated costs of each property.

Moving forward, the commissioners said they still plan to honor their current leases for the three county departments located in the Gettysburg Borough, which expire in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

The tenure of the leases will allow the county time to properly renovate and prep the Herff Jones building before each department moves in, Martin said.

The property is also large enough that the county could eventually expand other departments into the space such as maintenance, a modern archive facility and possibly a new magistrate's office, Qually said.

The commissioners have begun talks with representatives of Freedom Transit on the subject of adding a new bus loop north of Gettysburg, which will create a public transportation option to the human services facility.

By the numbers

In the past, county officials have said their wish list for the building includes the following features.

Total square feet: Between 36,000 and 42,000

Parking: Enough space for all 120 employees

Total project budget: $8.3 million

The Herff Jones property had the following features.

Total square feet: 91,000

Parking: approximately 200 spaces

Total project budget: $7.42 million

The building was valued and priced at the following amounts.

County appraisal: $2.8 million

Independent appraisal: $3.03 million

What it sold for: $2.26 million

What the county will pay after receiving grant money: approximately $1.48 million